1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a centralized management/control method for the power ON/OFF schedule of a plurality of computers in a system in which the plurality of computers are connected to a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the power of a computer is automatically turned ON/OFF according to a predetermined schedule in an automatic power supply control method. This method is used to make a schedule of a series of operating jobs from the power-up in the server to the activation and stop of an application, and the power-up, and to save the labor and resources required to operate the server (automatic operation).
FIG. 1 shows the conventional automatic power supply control method.
With the configuration shown in FIG. 1, a power supply control device 102 is connected to a single computer 101. The power supply control device 102 can be an exclusive device, and can be configured to have the function of control the power supply by, for example, a UPS (uninterruptible power supply also referred to as a standby power supply device), etc.
The computer 101 is provided with a power supply schedule software 103. When a user optionally operates an input device (keyboard, mouse, etc.) of the computer 101 not shown in the attached drawings, and activates the power supply schedule software 103, the settings input screen (not shown in the attached drawings) of a power supply schedule is displayed. On the settings input screen, the user defines (inputs the settings of) a power supply schedule (power-up date and time, shutdown/power-down date and time, etc.) or a ‘wait event’ for extending the shutdown.
The ‘wait event’ refers to the state in which the computer 101 can safely shut down. For example, an operation job can terminate, a database can be completed, etc. Therefore, if the ‘wait event’ has not occurred although the power-down date and time has come, then it is necessary to extend the power-down date and time without performing the shutdown process. An example of the above mentioned ‘wait event’ can be an ‘end of operation job’ and an ‘end of database’ because the computer 101 is not fundamentally operated by a person, but automatically continues executing jobs according to a predetermined job schedule during the operating time. However, it is not limited to these applications.
The above mentioned power supply schedule can be set for several weeks or months, and for a plurality of dates and times.
After the above mentioned settings are input, the power supply schedule software 103 enters a wait state until the earliest date and time in the shutdown/power-down dates and times. If the power-down date and time has come, the power supply control device 102 is instructed to indicate the next power-up date and time and perform a shut down process in several minutes according to the defined power supply schedule unless it is necessary to extend the power-down date and time after confirming that the ‘wait event’ for extension of shutdown has occurred. Furthermore, the OS (operating system) of the computer 101 is instructed to perform a shutdown process. The power-down process is to be performed in several minutes to prevent the power-down from being performed before the completion of the shutdown. Thus, the OS of the computer 101 is shut down, and is then the power-down process is performed by the power supply control device 102. The power supply control device 102 obviously stores the indicated next power-up date and time in the internal memory, etc.
Then, if the stored next power-up date and time has come, the power supply control device 102 performs the power-up process such as energizing, etc. Through the power-up, the computer 101 can be activated.
As described above, although there has been a conventional management system for an automatic power supply schedule of a single computer, there has no management system for an automatic power supply schedule of a system involving a plurality of computers. A system involving a plurality of computers refers to, for example, a client/server system, and specifically a system, etc. in which the plurality of computers perform a formatted job in cooperation with one another according to the schedule of a predetermined job. In this system, it is desired that the processes of power-up, system activation, activation of a job application, stopping the job application, shutdown, and power-down can be automatically operated by calendar control. In addition, for example, there are some multiserver systems for a large amount of access at several sites through Internet. In the multiserver system, an automatic power supply schedule management system is requested to perform the power-down process when a power supply ON/OFF scheduling process is performed on each server each week (for example, to stop the operations on Sundays, etc.), during the periodic maintenance, at the beginning and the end of a year, etc.
There are the following methods 1 and 2 with the management systems for an automatic power supply schedule of a system involving the plurality of computers taken into account.